Buffalo, NY (WBEN) With another rise in COVID19 cases expected, nurses and others on the front lines will likely need more help. The call could be coming for retired nurses and doctors to return. College students are also getting valuable experience.
Two area doctors, Dr. Lito Gutierrez and Dr. Elizabeth Zausmer, say they were inspired to jump in when they saw developments on the news. "It was just breathtaking, and we felt we wanted to do something. We had been retired for over a decade, but hands-on treatment was not realistic, but were wondering if there was something we could do," says Zausmer.
"We had a license, but we are not registered, which means we cannot prescribe anything legally. Eventually, we got into contact with the deputy commissioner with the New York State Department of Health and we asked why haven't we been called and we were told it would be too risky for us to go," says Gutierrez. "If we can be of help, we'd like to help, and that's what helped us to do it."
Zausmer and Gutierrez went to the field hospital at Javits Center in New York City. They worked behind the scenes helping field calls from loved ones of COVID19 patients. "We became the liaison between the families and the physicians. We'd get the names and numbers of people who had called, we'd call down to get status updates and call them back. It was very rewarding. People were so grateful to hear what was going on with their family members," says Zausmer.
"You cannot go see your loved ones, you cannot even go to the hospital. Families are left out anguished not knowing what's going on. That's the role we eventually played, the communication with family members," says Gutierrez.
Both say they're willing to help again. "We have made ourselves available. If the state or county want our help, we have some skills we can put to use. We cannot be on the frontline," notes Gutierrez, saying helping in a time of need is a no-brainer.
Gutierrez says she has a concern about current nurses. "I know there is an issue with personnel. You can have all the ventilators you need, but if you don't have the people who have the knowledge to use the ventilators, you have a big problem," says Gutierrez.
At UB School of Nursing, Donna Fabry says nurses are exhausted. "It's mentally fatiguing, it's physically fatiguing. They're sending out notices for nurses to come out of retirement and to other nurses who can volunteer in other roles at the hospital," says Fabry.
Fabry says nursing students are getting valuable experience during the pandemic. "Our junior nursing students are in the hospital for the first time. There are things they can do without a lot of experience, just being the eyes and ears for nurses, making sure patients are comfortable, taking vital signs, looking for complications, so they're very vital," says Fabry. "Senior students can do even more to help nurses, so the nurses can appreciate the students being out there."
Fabry adds students who work during a pandemic hopefully will look back on this as they handle day to day issues, saying "it's like a piece of cake."
